classic Porsche 911 Restomods have long been popularized by companies like… Singer And symboland recently they were joined by an Australian outfit called reborn, which also brings modern luxury, technology, performance and safety to one of the world’s most famous sports cars – all at a proud price.
Now Australia has another $1 million 911 courtesy of a local company Zeigler/Baileywhich goes beyond normal restomod practice with its Z/B 4.4 – a completely overhauled Porsche 911 G-series coupe based on donor vehicles from 1975-1989, equipped with an Australian-developed air-cooled 4.4-liter boxer engine and a new steel platform.
The two-seat Z/B 4.4 is priced at a flat rate of $1.6 million (excluding donor vehicle) and is designed to comply with all applicable Australian design rules and standards. The stated construction time is approximately 12 months from commissioning.
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Zeigler/Bailey uses the upper structure and bodywork of the 1975-89 Porsche 911, a series that introduced fully galvanized bodies and recorded 198,496 sales worldwide, many of which are still on the road. Donor cars can come with right- or left-hand drive, and the company can assist customers in obtaining a car if necessary.
Every project starts with a complete strip up to a bodyshell. The original floor is cut out along both chassis rails and across the top of the dash and rear parcel shelf. In its place is a seam-welded steel sheet pan with an integrated crossbar on the front firewall, which, according to Zeigler/Bailey, increases the torsional rigidity of the shell by around 15 percent.
The replacement platform is designed to comply with applicable 1986 ADRs.
The Z/B 4.4 features steel side impact doors and a steel “long hood” front lid, with other carbon fiber exterior panels secured over a retained steel frame. According to Zeigler/Bailey, the symmetrical platform also allows the driving position to be converted from right-hand to left-hand drive or vice versa in about a day.
The front suspension consists of a MacPherson strut arrangement inspired by the 997-generation 911, with aluminum dampers allowing height adjustment and optional four-way damping. At the rear, an independent multi-link, double wishbone arrangement places height-adjustable coil-over dampers on the inside, actuated via titanium pushrods mounted to a CNC-machined aluminum bulkhead.
Braking is done via Brembo four-piston brake calipers and ventilated steel discs with Bosch ABS. The car rides on 17-inch forged aluminum wheels with carbon fiber rims and center lock nuts. Zeigler/Bailey has also developed an electrical CAN bus architecture using solid-state power control modules.
“I started again from first principles,” said mechatronics expert Greg Bailey, who designed the car’s CAN bus electronics system.
“If I were to design a completely new electrical system for a vehicle, what would that have to include? We now have a car with no fuses and no relays. It’s all solid-state PCMs (power control modules) with CAN bus technology connecting everything together.”
The Z/B 4.4’s air-cooled, flat-six engine has a displacement of 4,388 cc and is built around an aluminum block machined from solid billet, with billet twin-spark cylinder heads and coil-per-plug ignition. Bore and stroke are 106.045mm and 82.8mm respectively and compression is 11.5:1.
Zeigler/Bailey claims the engine produces 300kW of power and 500Nm of torque, controlled by aHaltech ECU and drive-by-wire throttle.
According to the company, the engine consists of more than 1,200 parts designed specifically for this engine, including a billet steel crankshaft and camshafts with an “ultra-low-shock” cam design. It features dry sump lubrication and the exhaust system is mostly 3D printed stainless steel with driver-selectable Quiet and Track modes and is designed for cartridge catalytic converters.
According to Zeigler/Bailey, the engine meets its ADR obligations for noise and exhaust emissions, comparable to late 1980s standards, and matches the emissions performance of Porsche’s last 993 series air-cooled 911 engine.
The engine’s bolt pattern matches a Getrag G50 five-speed manual transmission, and Zeigler/Bailey says the engine and G50 drivetrain will match any air-cooled 911 chassis with the required torque tube modification. The Z/B 4.4 uses a limited slip differential and Zeigler/Bailey developed drive shafts with GKN tripod type constant velocity joints.
“For me, it’s all about reducing man-hours … bringing complexity into every part, rather than making complex manufacturing tasks for people,” Mr. Bailey said.
Inside, the new platform should offer space for occupants up to 204 cm tall. Seating options include Porsche power chairs, GTS sport seats and optional GT3 carbon fiber seats. Standard upholstery is Nappa leather with Alcantara on selected panels and machined aluminum trim.
Zeigler/Bailey developed analog-style digital instruments in billet enclosures and a 9.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, Bluetooth and data logging, and a six-speaker sound system.
Safety features include Bosch anti-lock brakes, an electric parking brake, parking sensors, a rearview camera, blind spot monitoring, GPS tracking and live telemetry via a 4G connection.
Zeigler/Bailey says it has 14 full-time employees and six cars either completed or in production at its factory in central Melbourne. Founder John Zeigler Jr. wants to build about 10 cars a year locally and up to 50 for export, as well as up to 1,000 engines a year for other projects.
The company emphasizes that it restores and modifies existing Porsche vehicles and is not sponsored, associated, approved, endorsed or affiliated with Porsche.
